Disney News

Tag: cast member

  • Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    The homeless Disney worker who died alone, living in her car, has recently been put in the center of Disneyland’s wages debate.

    Yeweinishet “Weini” Mesfin kept her struggles mostly to herself and it took 20 days of frantic searching by friends and family before her body was found around noon on Dec. 19, 2016. She was found dressed in exercise clothes and clutching her keys, in the driver’s seat of her dark green 1999 sedan parked at the gym where she showered.

    Mesfin lived out of her Honda Civic for seven years but all she wanted was privacy and hid her struggles from almost everyone, according to a report by The Orange County Register. Mesfin decided not to tell family and coworkers that she was homeless, outside of one or two people.

    Now Mesfin’s private struggle is the subject of public debate more than a year after her death. A recent union-commissioned survey of 5,000 Disney employees showed that the vast majority of respondents stated they were being paid less than $15 an hour, and about 3/4 of those surveyed said they run out of money by the end of month, according to the study. Headlines about the about the findings quickly spread and soon she was the subject of social media posts and stories claiming she died because of her paycheck.

    Disney officials, however, dispute the surveys findings as “deliberately distorted,” calling them an “inaccurate and unscientific survey … paid for by politically motivated labor unions,” according to a statement from Suzi Brown, the vice president of communications for Disneyland Resort.

    However on the issue of Mesfin’s disappearance, Brown said, Disney security also requested a welfare check by Anaheim police. They also made calls to multiple police departments and maintained Mesfin’s status as a cast member until she was found dead.

    Employment records show Mesfin began working part-time at the Anaheim theme park in 2007, according to Brown. Mesfin became a full-time cast member in 2009.

    Co-worker said, Mesfin was third-shift custodial at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, with typical hours starting at 11 or 11:30 p.m. and ending around 8 a.m. Her pay was most likely was around $13 or $14 an hour at the time of her death, according to the report.

    The 61 year-old passed alone almost a week after her birthday.

     

     

     

     

  • Make-A-Wish Child Grows Up To Become a Disneyland Cast Member

    Make-A-Wish Child Grows Up To Become a Disneyland Cast Member

    For Lexi Marincovich, making wishes come true is part of the job. As an entertainment host at the Disneyland Resort, Lexi facilitates wish visits for children with life-threatening medical conditions, in partnership with Make-A-Wish and other wish-granting organizations.

    When she was a little girl, Lexi had no idea she would someday be working as a Disneyland Resort cast member.

    “I was a wish child,” she said. “So when I was little, my mom said she wanted to see an older version of me. This is my shot to show these families that one day their child can work and be healthy.”

    Each year, the Disneyland Resort grants approximately 750 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. More than half of the wishes include character encounters, hosted by cast members like Lexi.

    According to Lexi, Disney characters can be a family’s symbol of hope. One wish visit that stood out to her was a child who met Oswald the Lucky Rabbit on Buena Vista Street. The child’s family considered Oswald their lucky rabbit because they would watch his cartoons and read his comics during medical treatments.

    “Depending on the situation, I will tell the families I was a wish child,” Lexi said. “Working here and still being able to be involved with wishes is the best of both worlds. It means so much to me to give these families the hope and strength they need to get through whatever hardship they’re going through,” she said.

    Disney Make a Wish

    Kaavya Chanamolu, age 4, recently had her wish granted at the Disneyland Resort. Kaavya’s wish was to receive a transformation at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, experience “World of Color” and stay at the Disneyland Hotel with her family. A favorite moment was when Kaavya walked hand-in-hand with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse down Main Street, U.S.A.

    “To feel the goodness coming from everyone reaffirmed our faith in humanity,” said Kaavya’s mom, Priyanka. “We saw so much joy in Kaavya and the normalcy in her again. Make-A-Wish is so important because emotional healing is what these families need. This was an emotionally elevating experience for us.”